allsaintsjonesboro Sermons

Whatsoever Is Hindered by Our Sins

A sermon for the Fourth Sunday in Advent, by Fr. Josh Leigeber.

On the Fourth Sunday in Advent—anciently known as the Preparation—the Church prays a striking petition: that the Lord would come with power so that “whatsoever is hindered by our sins may be speedily accomplished through the mercy of Thy satisfaction.” This sermon reflects on the breadth of that prayer and the deep comfort it offers.

Sin has hindered every aspect of life—our joy and peace, our bodily life, our life together as neighbors, and ultimately our life with God. We contribute nothing to the restoration of these things but more sin and resistance. Yet Christ, by His satisfaction on the cross, has fully paid for sin and continues to apply the fruits of His work to us by grace until the final defeat of death itself.

Against a merely sentimental celebration of Christmas—one that offers fleeting emotional comfort—the true and lasting significance of the Nativity resounds in our ears: God the Son has come to dwell among us. Christmas is not a temporary feeling but a reality-changing event with ongoing consequences. In Christ’s real, gracious presence—especially as He comes to us now in His Word and Sacraments—what sin has hindered is truly being restored.

Echoing John the Baptist’s witness to “the One who stands among you,” the sermon calls hearers to recognize Christ present in the midst of His Church: restoring joy and peace, renewing bodily life with the promise of resurrection, uniting us as one Body, and reconciling us to God through forgiveness and the gift of faith.

Because of this, Christmas changes everything. The faithful prepare not for a fleeting holiday, but for the enduring mercy of God made flesh—who continues, throughout the year, to grant forgiveness, life, and salvation to His people. Listen to the full sermon below.

allsaintsjonesboro Sermons

Are You Right with God?

How are you made right before God? Jesus tells the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector to answer that question. While human reason assumes the Pharisee’s outwardly righteous life makes him justified, Jesus reveals that it is the humble tax collector who is declared righteous. The Pharisee’s prayer is full of self-congratulation, whereas the tax collector’s simple plea—“God, be merciful to me, a sinner”—is grounded in faith and dependence on God’s forgiveness alone. True humility is not a human achievement but a gift from God, worked through his Word. Ultimately, God answers our plea for mercy through Christ, who in humility bore our sin on the cross and in turn gives us his own righteousness. Christians daily make the tax collector’s prayer their own, trusting not in ourselves but in God’s promise to forgive and grant us Christ’s righteousness through his merciful means of grace. Listen to the whole of Fr. Suelzle’s sermon for Trinity +11 below.

allsaintsjonesboro Sermons

Earthly & Heavenly Bread – A Homily on Mark 8:1-9

On the Seventh Sunday after Trinity (Aug. 3), Father Leigeber preached on Christ’s miraculous feeding of the four thousand (Mark 8:1–9), reminding us that God alone provides our daily bread—both for this life and for the life to come.

The multitude in the Gospel lesson left everything behind to hear Jesus’ Word, going without food for three days. Their hunger for the Word of God outweighed their bodily needs—a striking example of the truth that “man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”

Jesus, seeing their need, feeds them miraculously with seven loaves of bread and a few small fish—showing that God is the giver of all things, physical and spiritual. Father Leigeber reminded us that our meals, our homes, our families—everything—are gracious gifts from our heavenly Father. This is why Christians pause to pray before meals, following the example of Christ Himself.

Yet the feeding miracle points beyond mere daily sustenance. The language of taking, blessing, breaking, and giving the bread to the disciples draws our attention to the Holy Eucharist, where Christ feeds His Church with His very Body and Blood. Just as He used the disciples to distribute bread to the people, so today He uses pastors to deliver His heavenly gifts in Word and Sacrament.

In a world of busyness and distraction, we are tempted to neglect this miraculous Meal. But Jesus’ compassion remains. Even if we’ve been forgetful or careless, He still offers Himself to us. Every Sunday, Christ performs a miracle—nourishing and sustaining His people with the Bread of Life, for the strengthening of faith and the hope of resurrection.

Let us never forget the Source of all good things. And let us give thanks, both at our tables and at His altar: “O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good, and His mercy endures forever.”

Listen to the entire sermon: